August 2015 MMA News Archive

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Competitors from 11 different countries have been cast for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter led by UFC interim featherweight champion and proud Irishman Conor McGregor, opposite former WEC featherweight champion Urijah “The California Kid” Faber. The premiere episode, debuting on September 9 at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, will showcase 32 fighters competing for one of 16 spots featuring eight Europeans and eight Americans and the opportunity to be coached by two of the sport’s best athletes...

Two titles will be on the line Oct. 23, as former middleweight champion Brandon Halsey will vie for Bellator's vacant 185-pound strap against streaking Brazilian Rafael Carvalho in Bellator 144's co-headlining bout...

Arkansas is leading the charge against dangerous, drastic weight cutting.
The Arkansas State Athletic Commission (ASAC) temporarily passed a new regulation two weeks ago that intends to temper the practice of extreme weight cutting among amateur MMA fighters and boxers. Starting from Aug. 19, competitors are no longer able to gain more than 7.5 percent of their body weight back from the day of weigh-ins to the day of the fight. Also, a fighter cannot weigh more than one weight class above him or her the day of the fight...

Mauricio Rua’s next fight will have to wait until 2016. The former UFC light heavyweight champion is scheduled to undergo surgery on his right shoulder this week.
As first reported by FOX Sports 1’s “UFC Tonight,” “Shogun’s” injured shoulder requires surgery that will keep him out of action until next year. Rua’s manager, Eduardo Alonso, subsequently confirmed the report with MMAjunkie...

Retired UFC middleweight Chris Leben was today sentenced to 120 days in custody and three years’ probation after pleading guilty to multiple charges in connection with a June break-in at the San Diego apartment he once shared with his estranged wife...

It's unclear now if the Jedrzejczyk vs. Letourneau fight is still in the works for UFC 195, as Dana White told Iole, "I just have to rethink all of this. There are a lot of ways we can go, but we'll make this a kick-ass event and we'll get back at it and figure out [UFC 195] and do the same thing with that." But, for now it sounds like Claudia Gadelha isn't going to be the next woman fighting for the 115 lb title.

Melvin Guillard’s Bellator debut did not go according to plan. The former UFC lightweight contender dropped a split decision to handpicked opponent Brandon Girtz in the main event of Bellator 141 on Friday.
Girtz’s (13-4 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) combination of punching power and explosive takedowns gave Guillard (34-14-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) fits for the majority of the contest. “The Young Assassin” nearly scored a finish in the final minutes of the 155-pound contest, but throughout most of the fight his strike count was below the norm.
A “shattered” right hand was likely a contributing factor.

The card is complete for next month’s RFA return to Nebraska, including a pair of UFC veterans in the middleweight headliner.
Anthony Smith (22-11) is set to meet Brock Jardine (12-5) in the main event. In addition, UFC and Bellator veteran Ryan Roberts (21-10-1) takes on Adam Townsend (13-3) in the featherweight co-feature.

After his latest stoppage victory, Sage Northcutt got some pretty big news in front of his home fans.
Northcutt (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), a 19-year-old welterweight from nearby Katy, Texas, tapped out Rocky Long (21-34-1) on the main card of Legacy FC 44 on Friday night in Houston.
After the win, it was announced that Northcutt had secured a UFC contract and will make his promotional debut this fall – also in Houston at UFC 192. No first opponent was announced for Northcutt, though his fight is likely to take place on the UFC Fight Pass portion of the preliminary card.

An injury has forced a change to the main card of next month’s UFC Fight Night 75 in Japan.
Kiichi Kunimoto (18-6-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has been forced out of his welterweight bout against Li Jingliang (10-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC). Stepping in for Kunimoto will be three-fight UFC veteran Nakamura Keita (30-6-2 MMA, 0-3 UFC). UFC officials recently announced the change.
The lineup is set for next month’s UFC Fight Night 75 event in Japan, which includes bouts on FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2 and UFC Fight Pass.

UFC heavyweight Travis Browne is free to return to competition after an investigation into an alleged domestic violence incident came back with “inconclusive evidence.”
Browne (17-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) was temporarily suspended by the organization in early July after his wife, fitness model Jenna Renee Webb, posted multiple photos of her bruised body on Instagram and accused Browne of assaulting her.
Although Webb did not press charges, UFC’s officials announced the promotion hired “a former FBI agent with more than 25 years of experience” to investigate the situation.

The opening round matchups for next month’s four-man, single-night Bellator MMA light heavyweight tournament have been set, as Muhammed Lawal meets Linton Vassell, and Phil Davis faces Emanuel Newton.
The pairings, which were conducted via random draw following Thursday’s Bellator 141 weigh-ins, were announced on Friday’s Spike TV telecast.
Bellator 142 takes place Sept. 19 at San Jose’s SAP Center. The main card airs live on Spike TV. The “Dynamite” event features both MMA and kickboxing matches.

In a surprise announcement on ESPN's 11 PM ET edition of SportsCenter, UFC president Dana White confirmed that Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm, originally scheduled to headline UFC 195 in January, is now the new main event for UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia on November 15th (November 14th in North America). Just last week, Rousey made her own announcement on ABC's Good Morning America that her next title defense would be against Holm in Las Vegas on the UFC's traditional New Year's weekend PPV.
At the time, the original main event was a welterweight title fight between champion Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit, with a co-main heavyweight rematch between Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva. Unfortunately, dreams of a Rousey vs. Holm/Lawler vs. Condit twinbill have been dashed, as a thumb injury has forced Lawler off the card.

The viral video of a violent knockout has spurred the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) to launch an investigation into unsanctioned events like the controversial Xplode Fight Series, MMA Fighting has learned.

Justin Wren stroked his prodigious beard, scratched the dry, red skin on his arm and squinted.
"It's kind of crazy we're here," he said. "All that green."
The ivy-covered coffee shop patio about two miles from the campus of UCLA brought Wren back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And, more specifically, the vision he had that led him to the African nation in the first place.
Four years ago, Wren was an MMA fighter struggling with addiction and depression, looking for something else of value in his life. During a spiritual retreat, he found it even if he didn't know where it was.

When Anthony Pettis returns from his injury, he'll have no lack of a willing opponent.
The former UFC lightweight champion has been on the sidelines since undergoing elbow surgery in May. And there's a line of lightweights forming for a shot at the Roufusport fighter.

UFC 190, headlined by Ronda Rousey's 34-second title defense against Bethe Correia, became perhaps the most surprising pay-per-view hit in U.S. company history.
Current estimates have the show doing a little more than 900,000 buys on pay-per-view, the largest number for a UFC show since UFC 168, on Dec. 28, 2013, the show headlined by the second Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva fight and the second Rousey vs. Miesha Tate fight.